


What a difference a day makes (or, 24 little hours)

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-27
Updated: 2006-03-27
Packaged: 2019-01-19 15:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12412848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: On the brink of death, what's running through Lily's mind? My entry for the Scrivenshaft Challenge Cycle 5 - Had I but Known. Moral: When in doubt, Mumble. PG. L/J.





	What a difference a day makes (or, 24 little hours)

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

_Had I but known how wonderful life was with him, I never would have held out for so long. Now, it's nearly over, and the only consolation I have is that if I had agreed earlier, given in to his advances earlier, then maybe we wouldn't have had the wonderful son I hold in my arms. Torn between the two of them, I know that as much as I love my husband with all of my heart and soul, I could never have really changed anything. Another day with him would have only served to make this all the more painful, and I don't know how I can stand it as it is. I just pray that somehow my wonderful boy will live, I hope that our sacrifice doesn't end in vain, that the old magic upon which we rely now does its job. He's getting closer now, and I feel the loss of my husband as if someone has ripped out a part of me, as if a part of me has died. And it has, soon to be followed by the rest. Oh, James... I'll be with you soon my love. And we can watch over Harry together..._

Lily Evans sat across from him, working on a roll of parchment for Slughorn's latest Potions essay. She looked... effervescent. Gossiping with her friends as she worked, the energy she emitted was palpable, infectious. Her hair glowed softly in the afternoon sunlight, and James wondered how it would feel to run his hands through it, his fingers twisting in her curls, pulling her close, tilting her head towards him as he leaned in to kiss her soft lips... Shaking his head in disgust with himself, he tried so hard to concentrate on his essay - after all, he'd never be an Auror if he didn't pass Potions - but he couldn't help himself. Within five minutes, he was entranced again, this time by her eyes.

They shone, like emeralds. But they weren't just green, he had learned from continuous observation. They had tinges of blue, and grey. They reminded James of the ocean - not in colour, they were still too green for that - but in depth, texture. They reminded him of real ocean, the kind you get really far out, or in the Mediterranean, where the water looks turquoise and clear and sparkles, and you can see so far down your head spins. They entranced him, captured him, and so often he had needed to physically shake himself after talking to her, just to break from the spell she seemed to cast upon him. He found he was drawn to her, caught in a web that she was unconsciously weaving, unaware of her effect on him. And he sat there, dreaming of a life, just them, and a baby. With black hair, and green eyes as deep as the ocean, that shone like emeralds...

He never knew that she watched him, she thought. She caught him staring at her more often than she cared to admit, and he never realised that she watched him back. He had been asking her out solidly since third year, when the testosterone and bravado took over the childish awkwardness. And every time, she had told him no, and a tiny little bit of her heart broke, because since third year she had wanted nothing more than to leap into his arms and say Yes. Yes. A million times yes! But she could see that to him, it was a joke. Oh, she knew he had a crush on her. But she also knew that if she said yes then, it would turn into a teenage romance - making out in the corner, school dances, but eventually fizzling out and dying when they matured. Lily didn't want that, from James, so she said no. Again, and again, secretly hoping for the day when it wouldn't be a joke. She wanted love. She wanted it all - the heartache, the passion, the romance. At fourteen, she had never realised that was why she turned him down, but at eighteen, she was a woman, and knew why she had caused herself so much heartache. So she held out for the day that he would see her, really see her, and tell her that he loved her. And then, she would say yes. Maybe then, she could have the dream she kept envisioning - her, James and a bouncing baby with green eyes and a mess of jet-black hair that she just wanted to run her fingers through...

"Lily? Lily, wait!" He saw her leaving the library, and realised that this was his chance. He didn't know quite what made this so different, why he had so many butterflies in his stomach - he'd asked Lily Evans out so many times before. And every time she had said no, a little voice told him. And if she says no this time, you wont be able to take it... Ignoring the voice at the back of his head, he caught up with Lily in the corridor, which was thankfully quiet aside from a few portraits watching them. "Lily, IwaswonderingifyouwouldgotoHogsmeadewithmethisSunday?" He mumbled, all in one long sentence so that he could get it out as fast as possible. 'When in doubt, mumble' - always James's motto. Lily, however didn't hear. And, as she had spilt ink all over her robes and needed to clean them off, shrugged James off with a "Sorry Potter, gotta go. We'll talk about whatever it was tomorrow, okay?" And she hurried down the corridor, robes flying, leaving a stunned James Potter in her wake.

_Oh, my dear James. 'When in doubt, mumble.' If only I'd paid attention, darling, that day. I know I said yes the next day, I know that we started seeing each other only one day after the event. But if only I'd listened, we would have had another day, one more precious day together. One more day with you darling, that's all I'd wish for. There were shooting stars tonight darling. And I wished so hard on them. So damn hard, for just that one more day._


End file.
